[Similarity of monozygotic twins regarding vocal performance and acoustic markers and possible clinical significance].

Auditory similarities in voices of monozygotic twins have already been described in the literature. However, is there a clinical relevance? Thus, the present study was designed to identify parameters of vocal performance and acoustic features which are significantly more similar in monozygotic twins than in non-related persons. In our hypothesis, comparable prerequisites for an increased vocal load in a profession or in an artistic education of the voice could be due to these similarities. We compared intra-pair differences with data from a control group. Moreover, we examined the correlation of intra-pair differences with the age of the monozygotic twins. A greater difference in older twin pairs than in younger pairs could show the effect of an exogene influence. In addition to the few phoniatric studies in twins in the literature, we used current methods for acoustic analysis. We examined seven parameters of vocal performance and three acoustic features in 31 monozygotic twin pairs (median age 36 years, range 18-75 years) and compared them with 30 control group pairs, which consisted of non-related persons of the same age and sex, newly combined from the group of monozygotic twins ("statistical twins"). We found significant differences in seven of ten parameters (vocal range, highest and lowest vocal fundamental frequency, fundamental speaking frequency, maximum voice intensity, number of partials, vibrato of intensity; U-test by Mann-Whitney). No correlation of the differences of the identical twins with age was found in the examined parameters. The voices of identical twins are significantly more similar than those of non-related persons regarding the above mentioned features. Thus, the suitability of the voices of monozygotic twins for professions with a high demand on voice is comparable. Results of the group comparison correlate largely with the literature. The missing correlation with age could be due to the fact that the environmental effects were not measurable, and/or the development of the voice is more influenced by genetic effects.